JULIE

Lucia Cervoni makes her Canadian Stage debut in role that comes with a full gamut of emotions. Julie plays The Bluma Apel Theatre until November 29.

A DEFINING CLASSIC GOES OPERA

It takes outside-the-box thinking to reach the conclusion that August Strindberg’s 19th century drama Miss Juliewas worthy of an artistic reshaping. But thanks to Canadian Stage and Soundstreams a contemporary English lyric adaptation is here.

And for a 70 minute, one act opera, it is simply a transformation that’s been long worth the wait.

Let’s not forget the original twisted little kitchen story of a young woman, Julie, and her valet, Jean, getting all hot and heavy in a Swedish estate while her father is away was about as bizarre as it could get. Especially when you consider that Jean’s finance, Christine, is either cooking or sleeping while the accidental lovers stay up late to talk.

Transforming this destructive romance piece into an opera is just plain trippy stuff. More than just an introduction to an alternative art form you may not have explored before, it’s an opportunity for a director like Mathew Jocelyn to drive the narrative to a visual place it has not gone before.

Take the insertion of nifty balloons, ceiling pipe, and rain soaked kitchen for example. It’s a perfect example of creative expansion overlooked in a traditional theatre staging.

Performers Lucia Cervoni, Clarence Frazer, and Sharleen Joynt manoeuvre well in this swift flowing, compressed story that at times has a comical pulse, if not almost cartoonish. But, of course, it’s their vocal contribution that’s stylizes Julie for the daring presentation that it is.